Mission Presidents Seminar in Cebu

      In May for Mission Presidents Seminar we traveled to Cebu. It was weird to be on a plane but this flight was only an hour so it was very different compared to our last flight when we came to the Philippines. We stayed at a lovely resort in the Cebu area. There was nothing scheduled that afternoon as we waited for everyone to arrive so we spent time with the couples we came with. Visiting, sharing ideas, concerns, and laughing. On Tuesday we had the great privilege of attending the Cebu Temple. What a wonderful experience! I pray I will never take the many temples that surround Utah for granted again. Going to the temple twice in not quite two years has taught me to appreciate the temple more than ever. We really had to remind ourselves that charity “envieth not” as we heard about how often the Cebu Mission President and wife attend the temple—with their outgoing and usually incoming missionaries, for personal inspiration, etc. It’s very convenient since they live on the same compound as the temple and see it out their front window and door. As usual the training was inspiring. The Area Presidency are all wonderful teachers. There’s always so many things we need to improve for ourselves and our missionaries so it takes effort to not be overwhelmed but instead seek guidance of what comes next for our mission.

     The first picture is a painting in the Cebu Mission Office that I love. The Nipa Hut is a Church. The scenery is very typical of what we see as we drive around. The hotel we stayed at was beautiful. We had a beach dinner one night and watched fire dancers. The Cebu temple is beautiful inside and out. It was so sweet to be there with dear friends. The staff at the hotel greets you by putting their hand to their chest to express heartfelt welcome and gratitude. On the bottom left we are with President and Sister Tye. He is the son of my parents dear friends so it's been fun to serve together. This was our last Mission Presidents Seminar with the Arderns. They are wonderful teachers and people and we will miss them. Their new assignment is in Salt Lake. We toured a guitar/ukele factory. They handmade all of them. Bart fell in love with a beautiful ukele--he'll need to learn how to play it. The view from the plane was our mission.